IAMU will hold its 27th Annual Water and Wastewater Operator’s Training Workshop on November 17-19, 2021. As we prepare for this yearly training that brings together municipal water and wastewater operators from around Iowa, we are asking for presentation proposals. The presentations must provide educational content and must not be sales pitches for specific products or services because members will be receiving continuing education credit for their time at the workshop.
 
If you are interested in presenting, download, complete, and return the Call for Presentations Form to [email protected].
 
If you have any questions about the Call for Presentations Form or the workshop, please contact Steve Marsh at 515.289.1999 or by email at [email protected].
 
Once completed, the Call for Presentations Form may be emailed to Steve. 

Mark your calendars for the IAMU Wastewater Collection System Workshop sponsored by CIT Sewer Solutions.  This IAMU workshop will take place on Tuesday, July 13 at the IAMU Training and Office Complex.

Training topics will include:

• I&I Issues
• Maintenance 101 / Asset Management
• New Technologies in Sewer Rehab

Live demos will include:

• Vac & Camera Truck – Municipal Pipe Tool
• Robotic Cutter – CIT Sewer Solutions
• Barnes Low Pressure Sewer Demo – Electric Pump
• Starnet Building Demo – Electric Pump

0.5 CEUs available for Wastewater only.
 
Cost:
IAMU Members - $50.00
Non-Members - $70.00
(Includes CEUs and provided lunch)  

Registration is open.  For more information about the workshop, brochure, and online registration, click HERE.
 
Questions?  Contact Steve Marsh ([email protected]) at (800) 810-4268.

Congratulations to Brandon Lincoln of New London Municipal Utilities on completing the IAMU Apprenticeship Program.

Brandon began the program in 2016 and graduated during June 2021.

For more information about the Apprentice Program, contact IAMU Director of Electric Services Bob Hiatt at [email protected]

Colin Hansen, executive director of Kansas Municipal Utilities (KMU) in McPherson, Kansas, was installed as chair of the American Public Power Association Board of Directors during APPA’s National Conference in Orlando, Florida, on June 23.

Also re-elected for another three year term to the Board of Directors was Darrel Wenzel of Waverly Utilities.

Read the full article here.

Congratulations Colin and Darrel!

When is the last time that you invited the public into your facilities to get a glimpse of what being in the utility business is really like? Have you ever? Holding an open house and/or facility tour is a way for you to connect with your customers and help them to have a better appreciation for all that goes into making sure they have clean water to drink, electricity to charge their numerous devices, natural gas to heat their homes, and/or cable and high-speed internet to connect to the world.
 
When planning an open house or tour, here are some things to keep in mind:
 

• Setting a date: Find a date and time that will work best for most people or piggyback off an already planned community event. People tend to have more free time in the evenings or on weekends. And if something else is already going on in the community, people will be out and about, and may swing by when they check out the other activities going on for the community event.
• Getting the word out: Plan to invite your customers using various outlets. Create a Facebook event on your utility/city page and encourage employees, family, and neighbors to share the event on their personal pages. Make a simple flyer that you can post around town, including your own office, city buildings, parks, places of worship, businesses, and other locations where people gather. Be sure to let the local media know, too. Send out a simple media release to the newspaper and radio stations.
• Planning the events/activities: With an open-house style event, people come and go. Some may be there for a few minutes; others may stay for the entire event. Have activities for both types of people. Have multiple tours that start every few minutes or when you hit a certain number of people who want a tour. Staff the event with various individuals from different areas with whom customers can chat to learn more about a particular area of the utility if they want. Have refreshments. They can be as simple as cookies and water/coffee/tea or more elaborate like a meal. Nothing fancy, think hamburgers, hot dogs, and chips.
  

Mark your calendars for the return of the Electric Utility System Operation Short Course (EUSO):  July 27 – 29, 2021
 
This course will once again be presented by Skip Collier of Professional Training Systems, Inc.  Skip is highly regarded and has an extensive background in electric utility design, construction, maintenance and operation.

The EUSO Short Course is designed for any employee whose job performance will benefit from a basic understanding of the operations side of the business.  This includes those from legal, rates, engineering, purchasing, computer application, marketing, customer service, inventory control, finance, accounting, safety, risk analysis as well as those from generating plants.  One goal for this class is to have students leave with the ability to easily identify all of the electrical equipment they see in a substation as they walk by, along with all the equipment found on the poles in a residential area.  Non-electrical engineers are often at a disadvantage in the electric utility environment due to a lack of familiarity with technical issues.  The better you understand the utility’s product – electrical energy – and how it is created and distributed, the better you can serve the utility and your customers.  This course assumes no electrical background, and builds on the basics to provide a comprehensive understanding of the equipment and operations.
 
Line Maintainer apprentices will receive 21 Basic OJT hours for taking the EUSO Course.
 
*Due to the impact of COVID-19, the status of this training workshop is subject to change.

Registration
Registration is open to IAMU Members ONLY until June 15th.  After June 15th, registration will also open to Non-Members that wish to attend.  Participation is LIMITED to 50.
 
Registration Costs (includes materials and lunch)
 

• IAMU Members - $999 single registrant; $899 each after first registration from same utility / organization
• Non-Members* - $1,099 single registrant; $999 each after first registration from same utility / organization

(*Non-Member registration will open June 16)
 
(If you are planning on sending more than one participant from your organization, please make sure to share this with multiple departments so that you qualify for the reduced cost with the initial registration.)
 
IAMU Cancellation Policy is in effect.

Location
This year’s training will take place at the FFA Enrichment Center adjoin the DMACC Ankeny Campus.
 
FFA Enrichment Center
1055 SW Prairie Trail Parkway
Ankeny, IA 50023

For additional information, brochure, and registration, please click HERE.  The registration deadline for the workshop is July 20, 2021.

IAMU Safety Services will be holding a Drug & Alcohol Employee/Supervisor Training Webinar. This webinar will address the following:

• The effects of drugs and alcohol on the body
  
• Recognize the signs, symptoms, and indicators of substance abuse at the workplace
  
• Comply with federal DOT regulations requiring 2-hour reasonable suspicion training for supervisors
  

60 minutes will be spent on symptoms of alcohol abuse; 60 minutes will be spent on the symptoms of drug/controlled substance abuse.

*A Certificate of Completion will be emailed to participants upon confirmation of participant’s full attendance in webinar.

Who Should Attend?
Employees and supervisors involved with CDLs and/or gas operations.
 
Webinar Time and Length:
Tuesday, July 27, 2021 – 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
 
Cost:
$50 per IAMU Member participant
$70 per Non-IAMU Member participant
 
Questions?
Contact Don Heck at [email protected], or (800) 810-4268.

Registration is open.  For additional information and online registration, please click HERE.

(Webinar instructions and information will be sent to the registered participant’s email prior to webinar date.)

Learn the do's and don'ts of the hierarchy of hazard control and the best practices for creating a safe and healthy workplace.

Click here to read the EMC Loss Control Insights article.

As a municipal utility, what can you do to prepare for the rise in market adoption of EVs? One thing you can do is join us for our next webinar on electric vehicles! IAMU’s 2nd webinar is coming up next Wednesday. Around 50 members attended our first June webinar on EVs.
 
Join us next week as we discuss IAMU’s EV toolkit – a suite of excel tools and marketing assets aimed at preparing municipal utilities for the rise in EV adoption.
 
Reserve your spot today at the following Zoom registration link:
https://members.iamu.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1524777&group=

This year's Iowa Energy Summit is scheduled for November 9-10, 2021 at the Meadows Events and Conference Center in Altoona, Iowa. The IAEE conference committee invites you to submit your presentation abstract(s). 
 
What are we looking for in 2021?

• Interactive, engaging, tested and innovative presentations to provide a comprehensive experience for Summit attendees and further the mission of IAEE.
• Hot Topics 
  • Post-derecho analysis, effects and lessons 
  • EVs
  • Incorporation of safety into energy efficiency: How has COVID impacted the production/use of sanitization and purification equipment, UV LEDs, mechanical systems, etc.?
  • Strategic Energy Management 
  • EE occupancy minimum vs. occupancy maximum in buildings during a national event
  • Impacts of increased construction material costs on EE improvements 
  • EE improvements and methodology for refrigeration systems 
• Presentations offering CEUs 
• Multiple session formats (oral presentations, panel discussion, hands-on experiences, etc.) 

IAEE is actively planning the 2021 Iowa Energy Summit and plans to hold an in-person event. Details to be finalized later this summer. 
 
What to expect as a 2021 IAEE Summit presenter?  

• Presenters will gain exposure to a diverse audience of professionals at the conference as well as in pre-conference promotions where the presenter's bio and presentation topic will be listed.
• Time and format: prepare a 50-minute session including presentation and questions. Note: Some flexibility with time and format is possible.  
• For poster presentations: prepare a poster to be displayed around the exhibit area for the duration of the Summit. 
• We require that each abstract submitted include a lead presenter as the primary contact. Each accepted session or poster will be given one free conference registration. 

The deadline for submitting an abstract is Friday, July 9, 2021.
 
To submit your abstract please click below
 
Abstract Submission Form